The Cartographers’ Guild is a forum created by and for map makers and aficionados, a place where every aspect of cartography can be admired, examined, learned, and discussed. Our membership consists of professional designers and artists, hobbyists, and amateurs—all are welcome to join and participate in the quest for cartographic skill and knowledge.

Although we specialize in maps of fictional realms, as commonly used in both novels and games (both tabletop and role-playing), many Guild members are also proficient in historical and contemporary maps. Likewise, we specialize in computer-assisted cartography (such as with GIMP, Adobe apps, Campaign Cartographer, Dundjinni, etc.), although many members here also have interest in maps drafted by hand.

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ. You will have to register before you can post or view full size images in the forums.

Hello!

My nickname is Amunak; if you translated my name to English that would be George. I've been using GIMP, Inkscape (and other image editing software) for quite some time but I was never able to make art or maps. It was always just about simple things to make nice site design, a logo, or something similar.

I have originally planned to sign up just to contact @drow - there's no contact information on his awesome generator page donjon.bin.sh. But I found out that I (as a cartographing enthusiast) can actually use this page. I've looked so far on the GIMP tutorial on mapping and it seems really promising - even for someone without a tablet.

Also... Does anyone know how to bypass the 5-post limit on PM's without spamming here? I think I have nothing else to say, and I'd really like to talk to @drow.

Well, if you like maps, surely you can come up with honest kudos to post for some that you like? Or even if you don't feel your map efforts are good, you could post an attempt and ask for help and commentary.

Welcome to the Guild Amunak. There are tons of great GIMP tutorials here, and a few good Inkscape one's as well. And yes, it is possible to make some really nice maps without having a tablet. As to your question about the 5-post limit, there is a very simple solution to your problem: just write three more posts. Seriously, all you need to do is browse the finished maps section for about 15 minutes and give kudos to the people whose work you like. Done.